THE OKANAGAN LAKE MONSTER

1926 : During the year, Naitaka was seen on at least five occasions off Summerland by groups of people numbering from five to nine.

July : Where the old low shoreline road climbs past Trepanier, John L. Logie was driving his car near Peachland. He was accompanied by his wife and their two grandchildren. They saw Naitaka on the surface heading in the same direction, parallel to the shore. Both car and lake monster, kept company until the road turned away from the shore.

July : P.J. Dodwell of Summerland was driving his car immediately behind the Logie's and he too saw Naitaka swimming parallel to the shoreling. Logie commented that Naitakas are becoming more numberous and bolder.

July : On the second day of the Kelowna Regatta, four men in a racing canoe sighted Naitaka. It was viewed for, only a minute before it sank out of sight.

July : During a luncheon given by the Rotarians in Vernon, Bill Brinblecombe sang a parody of an English music hall song made famous by the late Mr. Davy Burnably. "The song of Ogopogo" gave Naitaka its new Anglo Saxon name. This is the name used by Canadians to date.

August : Joe Spurrier, owner of a sports goods shop took a shot at Naitaka with a high velocity rifle. The shot missed Naitaka and hit a summer cottage. Naitaka took the hint and sank out of sight.

September : Writer W.A. De Graves in the Vancouver Star stated that hunting parties were being organized in the U.S. in Washington State and California, to come up and shoot Naitaka.

September : A cartoon in the Sunday Province showed a small cannon on the deck of a steamboat, aimed at a surfaced Naitaka. In the same edition P.W. Luce protested against any attempts that might be made on the life of Naitaka. These sentiments were echoed by R. Leckie Ewing of Ewing's Landing, who in the Kamloops Sentinel asked "why shoot it."?

September : Manly Byrnes of Kelowna saw Naitaka on the surface at a range of no more than sixty yards. J.S. Stockwell saw Naitaka swimming in circles "like it was chasing its own tail", off south Kelowna at 10 a.m.

September : One afternoon, telephone repairmen working on top of a telegraph pole espied Naitaka just offshore of the Okanagan Mission district. Thirty carloads of citizens pulled up to watch, completely blocking the road.

October : Several residents of Summerland saw Naitaka just offshore in an unusual "rough water" appearance, and again noted its "sheep like head."

October : Two passengers on the S.S. Sicamous, Mr. T.M. Thompson of Peachland and Mrs. Cooper of Summerland, saw the creature Naitaka early one morning, about hundred yards away from the boat.

1942 : Frank Western Smith of Vancouver and Rock Creek was walking up Knox Mountain near Kelowna when he saw something moving in the lake. He said that it was a large object, that it swam in circles, and it sank out of sight and resurfaced. It vanished after about ten minutes.

1946 : Mrs. A.J.(Kay)Bissett of Summerland, who up till then did not believe in the existence of Naitaka saw the creature playing on the surface of the lake for half an hour off lower Summerland's boat wharf.

February 1948 : Don Nourse, a Penticton bus driver was driving his bus past the beach at 7 a.m. when he saw "four Naitaka pups" just offshore. He stopped the bus and collected several witnesses, who all saw small Naitaka's wriggling in the water only fifty feet offshore.

Summer 1949 : A crowd of people watched Naitaka swimming around off the public beach at Penticton shortly before 8 p.m. The creature appeared to be black in color and up to fifty feet in length.

July : Mr. & Mrs. Leslie L. Kerry of Kelowna and Mr. & Mrs. W.F. Watson Jr. of Montreal and their children all saw the lake creature when they were about to take their boat out at 7 p.m. After watching for some time, Mrs. Kerry telephoned her neighbours Dr. Stanley and Mrs. Joyce Underhill, who immediately came down to the beach with a party of young people. They all viewed the surfaced creature and Dr. Underhill, who was equipped with binoculars stated afterwards that he could see at least two Naitaka's.

July : Rita Bridges and Louis Guidi were in a rowboat off Siwash point when they espied Naitaka. The creature appeared to follow their boat for several minutes before it sank out of sight.

July : Captain Jack McLeod, skipper of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company tugboat Okanagan ceased to be a sceptic when he saw Naitaka from the CPR wharf at Kelowna.

July : John Bererbow, Cecil Keddy and Rexford X. Marshall were working in Marshall's orchard at Carr's Landing, North of Okanagan Center, when they saw Naitaka surface close inshore. The creature was seen by them at 2:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. Bererbow fired a shot at it with a rifle, with unknown results.

August : Jack Riorda, Albert Dicho and Cedric Boyer were working on the roof of the shipping office of the Kelowna Grower's Exchange, when they saw Naitaka twice. They said that the creature appeared to be about fifty feet long.